EcoBlog
The latest thinking on ecological landscapes. Useful tips to improve our environment
High-Value Pollen Sources for Honey Bees: Get Planting!
For honey bees, pollen is essential for brood-rearing, and they need a lot of it: an average colony collects 50 to 125 pounds per year. Pollen is honey bees’ main source of protein, lipids, vitamins and minerals. They need pollen with 20% protein; 10 of the amino acids in pollen protein are essential to honey bee development. Not all plants provide equally nutritious pollen, or the same amount of pollen. And, honey bees do not seem to choose pollen based on its nutritional content.
How can you help honey bees get the nutritious pollen they need? Plant a variety of plants which provide pollen at different times of year. No one species can provide all nutritional needs. I suggest favoring native plants which are adapted to your region in favor of exotic plants, cultivars or hybridized plants.
Here are 10 great native woody plants which provide quality pollen:
- Willows (Salix species)
- Tulip Trees (Liriodendron tulipifera)
- Hazelnut (Corylus species)
- Maples (Acer species)
- Elms (Ulmus species)
- Ash (Fraxinus species)
- Poplars (Poplus species)
- Elderberry (Sambucus species)
- Cherry (Prunus species)
- Crabapples (Malus species)
Happy Pollen Planting from Kim Eierman at EcoBeneficial!
Photo: Honey Bee Gathering Pollen from Corylus
Photo credit: Alexandre Dulaunoy
www.flickr.com/photos/adulau/3376009550/sizes/m/in/photostream/
More from EcoBlog
The Pollinator Victory Garden: Winning the War on Pollinator Decline
You don’t have to be a gardener or a landscape professional to know that many pollinators are in trouble. The White House has taken notice and on May 19, 2015, released the “Pollinator Research Action Plan.” In the summary of the plan, three “overarching goals” are cited; unfortunately, our 4,000…
Welcoming Birds Back to the Garden this Spring
As the weather warms, neo-tropical migrating birds start to reappear in our landscapes. Are you ready to offer a proper welcome? Resources can be slim at this time of year in our landscapes, both for overwintering birds and returning migrants. Now more than ever, we need to provide welcoming habitats…
Native Bogs with Ron Determann of Atlanta Botanical Garden
If you haven’t seen a native bog in full bloom, then make sure to put that on your bucket list. A recent trip south this fall provided me with the excuse I needed to see the splendid bog gardens at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Both ornamental and endangered, native bogs…